# How to Become the Filmmaker Big Brands Actually Want to Hire ft. RJ Bruni

An episode of [THE 505 PODCAST](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1591279585), 18 Sep 2026, 1 h 15 min.

Audio: https://podcasts.beehiiv.com/3f71d8b4-2a8c-40eb-8500-c62b76bd9acc/019d43e4-0103-7741-b37f-b81b41dca056/01a0b325-e2cd-77ba-a618-9a2cab256864/01a0b325-e404-7766-b5dd-fdba1b6cf0c8.mp3

Get 2 extra months of Artlist free when you use our code on an annual subscription: https://artlist.io/artlist-70446?artlist_aid=the505podcast_2970&utm_source=affiliate_p&utm_medium=the505podcast_2970&utm_campaign=the505podcast_2970 What’s up, Rock Nation! Today we’re joined by director and filmmaker RJ Bruni. In this episode, we break down how RJ went from working heavily in the outdoor space to developing a completely different visual style, how posting cinematic personal work on Instagram helped attract fashion, lifestyle, and commercial brands, and what it actually takes to become a better director. We also get into developing taste, having a strong creative point of view, directing talent, building a career around your work, and why sometimes the best marketing is simply becoming undeniably good at what you do. Plus, RJ walks us through some of his campaigns, treatments, lighting decisions, and the process behind creating branded films that feel more like short films than traditional ads. Check Out RJ Here: https://www.instagram.com/rjbruni/ Timestamps: 00:00 – Intro 02:14 – How RJ Developed a Style Luxury Brands Gravitate Toward 06:00 – Why Great Directors Need Strong Taste and Opinions 07:57 – How to Become a Better Director Outside of Being on Set 10:11 – How to Get Better Performances From Talent 12:24 – How RJ Used Instagram to Change the Direction of His Career 15:10 – Breaking Out of the Outdoor Filmmaking Niche 17:09 – Feeling Pigeonholed by the Work You’re Known For 20:30 – Making Personal Films to Attract the Work You Actually Want 22:07 – Why RJ Was Willing to Let Work Slow Down to Reinvent Himself 24:00 – Why Personal Work Was Never Just About Views or Followers 25:21 – The First Opportunities RJ Got From Social Media 26:13 – Jaguar, Monaco, and Realizing the Strategy Was Working 28:43 – Building Social Campaigns Around Multiple Pieces of Content 31:27 – Working With Dairy Boy and Elwood 32:58 – RJ’s First Elwood Campaign 35:11 – Why World-Building Matters More Than Just Making a Hero Video 37:29 – Should Directors Mix Personal Content and Client Work on Instagram? 39:12 – Balancing Being a Director With Building a Personal Brand 42:34 – Breaking Down RJ’s Commercial Work Shot by Shot 42:54 – How RJ Got the Moving Motorcycle Shot 44:53 – Breaking Down the Lighting Setup 45:43 – How Much of a Shot Is Planned Before Getting to Location? 48:29 – How RJ Landed the Salt & Stone Campaign 51:28 – Why Great Brand Films Should Feel Like Short Films 52:16 – Breaking Down RJ’s Treatment and Creative Process 56:30 – Using Natural Light, Bounce, and Minimal Gear 57:25 – Shooting for Vertical vs. Horizontal 59:27 – Turning Storyboards Into the Final Film 1:01:50 – Camera Movement and Creating Production Value 1:04:08 – How RJ Approaches Treatments When He Has to Pitch 1:06:13 – How Being an Athlete Shaped RJ’s Work Ethic 1:08:03 – Why Getting Better at Your Craft Matters More Than Just Sending More Emails 1:10:27 – Why You Should Create Even When Nobody Is Paying You 1:11:08 – Why Becoming Undeniably Good Is the Best Marketing 1:12:37 – RJ’s Approach to Becoming the Kind of Director Big Brands Hire If you liked this episode please send it to a friend and take a screenshot for your story! And as always, we'd love to hear from you guys on what you'd like to hear us talk about or potential guests we should have on. DM US ON IG: (Our DM's are always open!) Bfiggy: https://www.instagram.com/bfiggy/ Kostas: https://www.instagram.com/kostasg95/

## Transcript

[0:00] If you wanna be working with the biggest brands, you've gotta be bettering yourself as a creative first. Sending emails is just not gonna get you better.
[0:06] That's RJ Bruni, a director and filmmaker creating some of the most polished cinematic work in the fashion, lifestyle, and commercial space, with campaigns for Amoa, Tommy Hilfiger, Salt & Stone, and Elwood.
[0:17] Often what we're making for these social campaigns are just short films. We're just, like, really making things that make people feel connected to the brand.
[0:24] In this episode, RJ breaks down how he went from working primarily in the outdoor space to intentionally developing a completely different visual style, and how posting personal films on Instagram eventually opened the door to the kind of brands and campaigns he wanted to be directing.
[0:36] I started to build a style with the storytelling that luxury brands are gravitating towards. My thing was I'm gonna make a ton of videos and make my life look cinematic.
[0:47] We also get into what it takes to be a great director and why having an opinion matters, how your work outside of filmmaking influences the work that you create, and how he approaches major campaigns.
[0:56] As a director, it's... I think it's kind of your job to have an opinion about everything. Have opinions about what you like, what you don't like, and everyone knows how to bring a vision to life.
[1:07] And finally, we talk about building a career around your work and why sometimes the best marketing is becoming undeniably good at what you do.
[1:13] My approach was I'm gonna do really cool stuff for whatever brand comes my way. Mm. It doesn't matter. If you're good at what you do, you can make anything look sexy. Okay. I wanna crack. I'm gonna show you how to do it.
[1:24] Sure. See, that was a really solid one. So, you just- So you just gotta make sure to not have- That was, that was great... your finger on the trigger. Well, there's... Well, yeah. It's just, like, hair trigger.
[1:30] Just show him, show him what to do. See, he dent it a little bit. You guys... But it popped out. It popped out. Just wasn't as good. You guys aren't even using your nails.
[1:37] See, that was like a, that was like a seven, eight. That was like a- Oh, you're making me nervous... 6.9. I got- Yeah, yeah, yeah... okay, so I gotta pick it up first. Yeah, yeah, yep. Yep. Bang. Oh yeah, finished.
[1:48] There you go. You got it. Flip it back. Flip it back. Dude, you did good. It might be a dent. Sit it down. Little baby dent. We got a dent. Four nine. Welcome to the show, baby. Did I pop it out, though? It's...
[1:56] It's all right. No, we're good. It's all right. All right. Cheers. Cheers. Welcome to the show. Have you had a leisure before? No. These are good. No caffeine. No, I'm pumped. It's flavored water. Where's the ca-...
[2:02] We need caffeine. We need, like, 600. \[laughs\] Yeah, where, where, where are the espressos? \[laughs\] I'm gonna, I'm gonna do another one. We need a coffee machine. Let's go make an espresso. Give me another one, dude.
[2:10] So- We, we got a guy that comes in mid-pod. Yeah. He'll come in mid-pod. Yeah, he's sometimes- Yeah, yeah... he's a little late. You, you're someone who has phenomenal work on Instagram. Thank you, man.
[2:17] I go to your page. I look at it. It looks like a feed that could, we could swap out with any of the, like, the most premier brands. Thank you, man. Appreciate that.
[2:24] It wasn't always like that, though, and I wanna know, what was the conscious decision to build something that these luxury brands are, like, really wanting? How did you do that? Totally. Um, it was slow.
[2:39] I think it was very slow. So, a bit of my brack- background, I owned a production company back home in Vancouver for... Well, still own it, but it's kinda like, it just a little bit different now.
[2:52] Um, but did that for, like, eight, nine years, where we ran more of a production company. Me and my cousin started it. And then that was a completely different space that I'm in now, though.
[3:04] That was more of the outdoor adventure space, more of the brands like Arc'teryx, North Face, like, stuff like... Like, that world. Like, the, um, the mountain film festivals kinda world.
[3:16] So I was in that forever 'cause that's where I grew up. That's where, like, a lot of people...
[3:21] You go up north, like, you go to that space, and everyone's skiing and rock climbing and trail running and hike, all that stuff. So I was surrounded by that. So for me, it wasn't till I was, like, I would say discovering
[3:36] really what I loved in my mid-20s, like, who really am I? Like, what is my style? What, like, what do I appreciate in life?
[3:43] And it was kinda like, actually a realization where it's moving away from that, away from that mountain life.
[3:50] I still love, love it, love the outdoors, love mountains whenever I can, but it was more of an appreciation for culture and food and art and fashion. So that was coming to my later 20s, and
[4:03] that's where I would say my style started to move towards, I think, what you're describing. Mm. Um, but to go back to your question of, like, was it conscious to, like, gear towards these luxury brands, probably not.
[4:18] I would say I started to build a style that was very in line with the storytelling that kind of these luxury brands are kinda gravitating towards. Mm. In the, mostly the social space, I would say.
[4:34] Um, so I built that style. That was kinda happening i- simultaneously and then kinda, like, worlds merged a little bit. So it was
[4:43] not fully intentional in the sense of, like, I wasn't targeting that space specifically, but it kinda, like, fell in my lap based on, like, m- yeah, worlds colliding a little bit.
[4:52] So you, you did feel like it was much slower than, like... It didn't all happen at once. It was a very slow, gradual- Oh, my whole career is, like- Mm... slow. Mm. Yeah. I'm 31 now, which is not old, but it's not young.
[5:06] Mm-hmm. Like, it's not, I'm not in my early 20s anymore. Mm-hmm. And I've been doing this since I was, I've been doing this since I was probably 14, 15 years old. So, like, and it wasn't until
[5:18] kinda that mid-20s, like, switch where I would say, you know, we really s- not even progressed career-wise, but it was the start of, like,
[5:29] I finally took everything I've learned in my late teens, early 20s about life, about work, about skill and started... That was the start of, like, "Hey, we're gonna actually really build something for myself now." Mm.
[5:43] Figure out what that looks like, and then that turned into, like, making a lot of, lot of videos, getting a lot better, and then eventually, kind of in the past three years, I would say that's when it really kinda popped.
[5:56] Mm. So, long process. Mm. Very long process. No overnight success, that's for sure. How important is finding your taste in your personal life for what you do as a director?
[6:07] This is one of the best questions I've ever heard. Super good question. Good job. Um, no, unbelievable, 'cause I f- I think it's massive. I think it's, like, huge. As a director, it's... I think it's,
[6:20] it's kind of your job to have an opinion about everything. M- like, not politically or anything \[laughs\]. \[laughs\] But everything that w- is going to happen on set. Mm.
[6:32] So it's like you might not be an expert on wardrobe and styling, but you have to have an opinion about, hey, you're gonna ha-... Like, the stylist is gonna bring you options, and you're gonna have to make a decision.
[6:43] And so you have to have an opinion about everything. So I think it's super important for you to find your personal style, have opinions about what you like, what you don't like, and then kind of
[6:59] build not a wor- You don't always have to build a world, 'cause a lot of your projects won't, I would say, fit into your world.
[7:05] If you can, like, it's amazing, but I think your style personally, at least for me, has, has, like, played so much into my work and figuring out what kind of projects I want to work on, what those projects look like once they are in motion.
[7:21] And, and, and thing, decisions like time periods that projects kind of take place in and, and are things period specific, and wardrobe styling, color grade.
[7:34] Everything kinda, like, I would say falls back to kinda, like, my personal taste- Mm... my personal style.
[7:40] And you know I mentioned, like, you know, just I have such a love for, like, Italian culture, European culture, food, all these things, and all of that comes back into, like, my work, I would say.
[7:53] Um, so yeah, personal taste is, like, super, super important. So if there's someone listening to this wanting to become a director,
[8:03] what are practical things that they can do outside of being on set and actually practicing directing that leads to them actually becoming a better director? Would you just say it's
[8:15] seek out new restaurants and find your personal taste and try new food and travel new places? I mean, that could be one thing if you enjoy doing that. Okay. Right? So for me, it's like I love, I love vintage cars.
[8:28] I love eating out. I love finding the best restaurant when I go travel, learning about that culture. I like... Those are things that I...
[8:35] Like, playing golf, like, just being in nature, like, these are things that I love, and having taste in that will help me decide what I, what to do on set. If you don't love those things, that's fine.
[8:48] Like, you just might love sports, and that's great, and hopefully you're directing in the sports space- \[laughs\]... 'cause that's probably what you'll know the best, right? Mm-hmm.
[8:57] So I would say it's like if you can do that, you're just gonna have more fun. Yeah.
[9:00] Like, if you can direct in the space of things that you also love, and, like, we all love filmmaking as well, but we all have passions outside of being on set, and then, yeah, the ultimate thing is, like, that passion outside of being on set, that passion for filmmaking, put it together.
[9:16] I think it's like if your passion is, like, maybe only filmmaking and you kinda forget to just live and, like, have your own story that you can now put on screen, I think that is, like, the biggest issue.
[9:30] Doesn't matter what that story looks like, doesn't have to look like mine, doesn't have to look like your guys', but your story off being on set, like, you gotta be building the story 'cause you gotta pull from something, right?
[9:39] Yeah. So. I love that. You gotta have those, like, stories to tell. Yeah, stories to tell and, like, moments to pull from. Mm.
[9:45] It's like how even understanding, I think understanding psychology is super important, how people speak and operate and, and treat each other is super important.
[9:54] And if you're, like, not studying these things, being around people, putting yourselves in social situatio- unique social situations,
[10:03] if you're not doing that, I think, like, your understanding of how people act is not gonna be as strong, and essentially, like, it won't make you as much of a strong director. So yeah.
[10:13] W- what are tips to be able to pull more out of the talent? 'Cause I think that a lot of the time people don't get to see how a really good director operates, like, actually on a set.
[10:24] They might maybe see a treatment, like, we're gonna break down today, or they see the, the spot, but they don't get to see how you actually are with people.
[10:31] And is there something that you could tell, you know, the listeners that they can take into the next thing to get the most out of their talent, to get something that they're happy with? Yeah.
[10:40] It'd probably be in the pre-production and understanding who that character that they're playing, like, who they are. Mm. That would be the most important, I would say.
[10:50] 'Cause it's like you won't be able to direct how you want this person to act unless you understand who they are acting, right?
[10:57] So it's like if you can put it down on paper and tell me beforehand, "This is who this character is, and this is probably how they're gonna act in the situation," you should be able to articulate to the talent now what to do and how to, how to, how to do it.
[11:10] Mm. Um, so, like, I'm not... I wouldn't say I'm a good actor. Like, I'm probably a horrible actor. \[laughs\] I haven't really done much acting. I'm in front of camera, but, like, it's a little different.
[11:19] \[laughs\] Um, but I can still, you know, I can still give cues that ev- really talented actors will understand based on really trying to explain who this character is to them. So I think it's like most things that
[11:34] I think being a good director
[11:37] is, like, if you can get to set, and most of the time if it, if it can operate without you, you've done a really good job because you did a lot of pre-production to get everyone, whether it's the camera department or hair and makeup or talent, if everyone
[11:55] understands your vision and w- the part that they're playing, how it builds in this big story.
[12:00] Like, the best projects are the ones, like, when I get to set it's like, it's really easy because the pre-production was done really well, and everyone kinda knows-... how to bring the vision to life, so- Mm-hmm... yeah.
[12:13] I like that. Okay, so you were telling us you just got back from Australia, which is incredible. Yeah.
[12:18] Someone comes to your Instagram, they see that you are working with some of the biggest brands in fashion and beauty, but it wasn't always like that, kinda like Brayden alluded to earlier, and you made a conscious decision when you had your production company to go ham on Instagram.
[12:34] Mm. And you attribute a lot of your success and inbound projects to your social presence and the stuff that you're posting.
[12:41] Take us back to that moment of you had the production company, you decide to take Instagram really seriously,
[12:47] and what that was actually able to do for your career and what you learned from making videos for yourself versus for just clients. Gotcha. It's a long story, so- Lose your- Dude- I'm ready... buckle up.
[12:57] \[laughs\] Strap in, baby. Let's go. I'm fucking ready. So I was doing this production, r- running this production company. I was, like, directing under it, but also EPing. Um, and it was during COVID, and
[13:09] I w- I saw a lot of my friends, 'cause, like, you work with so many different people in the industry throughout the years, and I saw all my f- friends, like, kind of weren't as busy during that time, as a lot of us might have experienced.
[13:20] Like, COVID definitely was like, it s- put a halt- Mm-hmm... on things. Luckily, we were, we were busy, but I could kind of only
[13:27] pin it back to a few connections that maybe a few emails didn't come through, and I'm like, "Oh, this is like... We're very close to just not being super, super busy during this crazy time."
[13:38] I didn't like being, having my back up against the wall. I, like, I didn't like that feeling. So I'm like, "I wanna build something where I have way more control.
[13:47] If I, like, if I wanna do something, if I wanna do a project, whatever I want, like, I wanna be able to kinda, like, have the control to make that happen and find success with that."
[13:57] So had a ton of friends in the social space, and, and I just saw that there was a little bit of power in what they had.
[14:03] Obviously, they made a living very different ways than I did, like, whether it was influence or whatever. Um, but also it was, it was cool.
[14:10] Like, when they went to travel, they could, you know, hit up the coolest hotels and, and get that compensated for, you know, hit up restaurants and, like, have really, really amazing experiences, um, with either a trade or whatever that might be.
[14:25] And I'm like, I think that there's, like, a lot of really cool power in that. So not that I wanted that specifically, but you know, with that audience, that was their power. So I'm like, I wanted something.
[14:36] I wanted more control. I didn't wanna be waiting for emails to come through, and, like, that was our source of income. I'm not big into cold calling, cold pitching off emails. It's just not my style. Never has been. So
[14:51] I basically developed this plan in my head. I've, I've always loved filmmaking. It's been my thing. Like, since I was... I started when I was, like, 14, maybe younger. Like, it's just been, I've loved filmmaking.
[15:03] So I was never gonna move away from filmmaking, but I was getting a little bit bored of s- maybe the commercial space I was in, a little bit, style of projects we were doing.
[15:11] And at that time, not to cut you off- Yeah, no... were you more in the outdoor space? Yeah. Okay. Yeah, still in that space. So you hadn't necessarily transitioned to- Not fully.
[15:20] I was, like, still, I was figuring out who I was, I would say, my style. But the company was very much still- Gotcha... in that space. We were producing, um, like, fishing television shows- Mm...
[15:31] doing short film, like, short docs in- Mm-hmm... in the adventure space, stuff like that. Okay. Okay. Um, so
[15:39] I was kinda just getting tired of that space, and also understanding maybe it's not what I love and it's, like, my, where my heart is.
[15:47] So I started to kind of experiment on Instagram, knowing that I wanted to build a community on there.
[15:52] And I didn't know what I wanted to use it for, but I w- wanted a community that kinda granted me the control back, and whatever I wanted would...
[16:01] If I wanted to start a new company, I could do that, and it would probably have a little bit more success if I had a social audience behind it, a community behind it.
[16:12] Or if I wanted to, uh, fund a short film, whatever it is, having an audience, a community, it's not gonna hurt, was my thought. So I started to make, um, just videos for fun on social media.
[16:24] My thing was, I'm gonna make a ton of videos, and I'm going to pretty much just make my life look cinematic. Like, which I feel like everyone can.
[16:37] Like, life, cinema is based off these, like, small little moments of life, and the closer we can make cinema feel like a, a moment of life, like, that's the, always the goal, right? So we can all make...
[16:48] Our lives are just all these tiny little moments of, like, being in the movies, so I'm just gonna take these moments that I feel like are, are cool, and y- you feel something, I'm gonna film them.
[16:59] And it could be, like, me driving my car or my motorcycle, or- Cool car. Cool car. Th- thank- Yeah, it's a sick car. Thank you, man. \[laughs\] Can't do that until you have a Camry, dude. Yeah, yeah.
[17:08] \[laughing\] I think you could, though. No, no, no, I think you could. Ripping the Civic down Laurel Canyon Drive. Be a little harder. Be a little harder. No, no, I've seen it. I've seen it. \[laughs\] Wait, wait.
[17:15] I've, I've seen it been done. Did you, did you feel at all pigeonholed into the outdoor stuff? 'Cause I know a lot of people, a- and myself included, like, I was doing fucking fitness YouTube. I thought- Sure...
[17:25] I thought I was dead in the water, fitness. I'm like, "This is gonna be my fucking life, and I hate this stuff." Yeah.
[17:30] I, I felt like there was no route to these bigger brands, and it was just like, oh, they're just sponsoring these athletes. Kinda take us through that moment before we continue on with the story.
[17:39] Like, what was that internal battle like? Yeah. I think it was two, it was two parts. Like, s- same thing, it's, like, hard industry. Mm. And there's so much, um, there's so many people crushing it- Mm...
[17:54] in both of those spaces- Mm... where it's a little bit daunting- Mm... when you're competing against that. So it's like, for sure.
[18:00] Like, when we did it for long enough and, and we weren't, I would say we weren't crushing it like some of the other companies were, some of the other individuals were.
[18:08] So there's that part, and then also it's just, like, my heart w- I'm like, I'm not-... a mountain junkie like the people that were crushing it were. Like, they're just mountain junkies.
[18:16] Like, they're the ones, they're- They do this on the weekends. This is- They're, they're, this is all they do...
[18:20] mm-hmm Like, they're renovating the vans, they're living in the vans, they're, like, doing it for the absolute love of just, like, dirt biking, and it's sick. It's awesome. Mm.
[18:28] It's just, like, I realize it's just not, it's not my love, so it's like, it's time.
[18:31] It's like an identity ch- it was a bit of an identity change, um, for sure Did you feel it was work a little slower as well when you did, like, when you're like, "Okay, we're gonna..." So that's another part of it.
[18:41] I knew it was gonna get slower, 'cause the traditional, traditional commercial space is, like, it's a little bit... I don't know what the word is. There's a level of pretentiousness in it- Mm-hmm...
[18:53] where you have a lot of people, like directors and DPs, looking down on anything related closely to being r- related closely to social media or being an influencer. You probably experienced that, right? \[laughs\] Yeah.
[19:08] And probably have battled, like, am, what am I? Yeah Who am I in this space, right? Mm-hmm. So I kinda just said, "I'm, I'm tired of it. I don't care at all." Mm. Like, who cares?
[19:19] Like, if th- even if this turns into me being an influencer- Mm... I don't even care. At least, you know, at least I, I have something now, an audience, that, like, m- might love my work or what I do or wh- whatever.
[19:33] Like, there's people watching at least. Mm-hmm. Um, so I was ki- and I was just, like, I was kind of just tired of the space.
[19:40] It's like you have a lot of people, like, they're flexing, like, "I was on the biggest set," or, you know, "We did a Huggies commercial and it was huge." Mm. And I'm like, we gotta listen to ourselves sometimes.
[19:49] It's like \[laughs\] what are we doing? \[laughs\] Like, you know? So it's like I can be a little bit harsh in the sense of, of the s- the space sometimes. It's a little bit too judgmental. Mm-hmm.
[19:59] And I was kinda just tired of the judgment. Like, who ca- like, all, tons of my friends are massive in the s- in the social space.
[20:06] That's just, like, the world that I kinda, like, I was doing a lot of their social jobs, filming a lot of their social jobs for them. Mm-hmm.
[20:12] So I just became friends with them, and I'm like, I'm not, uh, these are the best people ever. Like, social media has brought these people so many opportunities. Um- And they're also two things.
[20:22] A lot of them are super talented. Super talented, yeah I think they get seen as- Yeah... influencers or content creators- Yeah... but they actually do have incredible skillsets when it comes to photo and video. Totally.
[20:31] I also think by having close proximity to those people, if these are your friends, you're like, "If they can do it, so can I." Yeah. To- exactly. Exactly. And that was the point I got to- Yeah...
[20:41] where I'm like, I'm tired of, like, the judgment in the traditional commercial space. I'm just gonna sink in. And so I started making, making my own videos, just doing these lifestyle short 15-second commercial videos.
[20:53] Or- What, what camera were you using? So we had these, we, we had some Canon cinema cameras in the office- Mm... that I'm like, "I wanna be quick and nimble," so I had...
[21:02] I was a Canon ambassador at the time, so Canon sent me this Canon R5, and I never used it, 'cause we were always, like, on set with more cinema cameras. And, um, I just crushed this Canon R5.
[21:14] \[laughs\] And I just used, I, I don't e- I still use this camera. Mm-hmm. I recently bought, like, a new, for my personal stuff I bought, like, a new Canon C50. Has open gate and all this stuff. Mm.
[21:24] You would've loved the R5. And I, I don't know why. I recently, I'm like, "Screw the C50, I'm going back to the R5. This is my baby." Oh, yeah. Mm-hmm.
[21:29] And I'm like, to this day it's like, I don't know when that came out, like six years ago. I'm like, "This is my camera." Mm. Like, this is... I don't know why. You just, something about that thing- Mm-hmm...
[21:37] it just, I, I've created so much work on that. \[laughs\] So yeah, that camera's like my, that's my turning point camera. Mm-hmm. So I was using that camera. I wanted to make everything as easy as possible.
[21:48] I'm like, I'm gonna shoot this by myself. I'm going to shoot on a tripod or, or suction cups on a camera, or on a, on a car.
[21:57] Um, and I'm gonna do this as quickly as I can, so I'm gonna sh- go out, I'm gonna shoot something. And this is all while, like, still working and, and doing projects.
[22:08] But know- to answer your question before, knowing that the traditional commercial space is probably gonna see me a little bit different now, and work is probably gonna slow down. But that's okay, like- Mm...
[22:19] 'cause something is gonna change. I, I didn't know what it was, but something will change. So I was still working, but, like, I knew it was gonna slow down. Um, but I'm gonna go shoot these videos.
[22:28] I'm gonna edit it the s- same night, and I'm gonna post it the next morning, and I'm gonna do that three or four times a week. So I just did that for, like, th- I don't know, a year or two. Holy shit. And... Yeah.
[22:39] You just had this unwavering faith that it was gonna work out? Has to. Like- Fucking has to. Yeah. Yeah. Nobody at the time was... I wouldn't say nobody, but not a lot of... Tons of people are doing it now.
[22:49] Tons of people are just ma- going out and making really, like, beautiful footage of their life. Mm-hmm.
[22:54] Tons of people are, and it's actually really inspiring to see, 'cause I think- 'Cause you started the trend \[laughs\] I wouldn't say, I wouldn't say I, I wouldn't say I started it. I saw one guy doing it.
[23:03] His name was Noah. Noah's Ark or something was his Instagram. Mm. You've probably seen his videos. Okay. He makes these, like, super fun, like, they're way more, like, feel like skits from a movie kinda thing.
[23:16] They were really cool, and I saw him doing it. I'm like, these are really cool, and I love the stuff he was making. Um, he wasn't traditionally trained or anything.
[23:25] I think he was probably just shooting it on a Sony or something. Mm-hmm. But the videos were really cool. He's more like a actor kinda thing. Mm-hmm. I see. Yep.
[23:31] So I was inspired by this, and I'm like, I, yeah, like, I can go make some really cool stuff. Like, I've been doing this forever. I just do it for clients. Now I'm like, I'm gonna do it for myself.
[23:39] And his videos were popping off too, and I'm like s- I mean, it's, it's gotta work eventually. Something has to go, and it did work. Like, you know, the views started coming, um, audience started to grow.
[23:51] Um, and yeah, it kinda just, like, it, it kinda just snowballed and snowballed and snowballed, and, like, the more I did it, the more fun I had. And, like, my purpose, I would say, wasn't to build a following.
[24:05] It wasn't to, like...
[24:08] It wasn't really about the views, 'cause the, the purpose that I really found behind making that amount of videos- Was when I look back two months ago, and I saw all the videos I made, and I'm looking back at my life, like two months ago, three months ago, six months ago,
[24:23] the memories that I had, not only making those videos, but just how life was- Mm... and I was proud of, like, it felt like I was making art 'cause there was no client behind it.
[24:32] Um, I was doing like, "What am I interested in today?
[24:35] I'm gonna decide today what I'm going to make, um, and I'm gonna deal with the challenges of, you know, the weather or just being by myself and not having help or whatever it might be."
[24:46] Um, and I felt like I was making art and, and really just capturing life. And, like, that's been... Since I've always been a filmmaker, that was like always been my main mindset.
[24:54] It's like everyone needs to be documenting life 'cause it's like, you know, it's- it's- it's- it can be short and- Mm-hmm... and it's good to leave something behind, for sure.
[25:03] And if you can leave something behind on film, I think it's super important.
[25:06] So that was like my ultimate, ultimate purpose is like even if everything doesn't go crazy and views don't come, it's like, am I gonna regret having a r- a- a page just full of moment, really awesome, cool moments of life?
[25:20] Like, probably not. Mm-hmm. So yeah. And so you start to get traction. Was there a job that came your way
[25:28] specifically from social, maybe the first one where you had the aha moment of, okay, you know, the followers are growing- Mm-hmm... the views are, are growing as well.
[25:37] Okay, now there's an opportunity, whether it was maybe for a paid brand deal or to direct an actual spot. Totally. So I would say it was this one random trip that
[25:50] both of them happened at the same time, which was really cool. So like f- flash forward a little bit now, it's like,
[25:57] you know, I didn't know where this was going, but it went back into the commercial space, just like even heavier and in a very different way. But I didn't know it was gonna go that way, right?
[26:06] So I was doing all these videos, gaining traction, and then I got invited by Jaguar to come to go to Monaco. It was just like, this is my f- Bro. That's sick. And it was sup- it was a super cool trip. We got to watch...
[26:20] It was Formula E. It wasn't Formula One, but it was Formula- Cars are still going fast... it was, cars were still going fast. Film Monaco, man. Still, still Monaco fans. Still Monaco. We were still on a yacht.
[26:29] I'm like- \[laughs\]... this is cool. It's just like it's LARPing. It's like fake. It's like I don't live this life. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's like insane, but you get invited to go, like- Mm-hmm...
[26:35] pretend to live this life. It's amazing. But I'm gonna make a video and people are gonna look at my life. \[laughs\] And I'm gonna make a video. It's, it's, it's so... But it's like fun. Like, this, it's amazing.
[26:41] This is insane. Yeah. I love to travel, love Europe, love cars. Like, it's amazing. I'm gonna go have fun, like meet amazing people- Mm-hmm... have some champagne on a yacht. Like, who's... Like, this is amazing.
[26:50] It all worked. Like, it happened. \[laughs\] Like, look, Mom, like \[laughs\] you know? \[laughs\] Like the views, the videos, everything, it worked. Mm-hmm. Um, so that was one. And then on that very same trip,
[27:01] there was this company, um, really cool company called The Rochambeau Club. Um, they're like an alcohol brand, and they...
[27:12] We've been chatting for a while, and they had this campaign coming up \[clears throat\] for this new, \[sniffs\] for this new seltzer that they were launching, and they were doing it in Mallorca.
[27:20] \[lip smack\] And it lined up where it was right after this trip to Monaco. So basically what...
[27:28] This was the first brand, I would say, that trusted me only, not by, like had nothing to do with the production company, nothing to do with any of the commercial work I've ever done in the past.
[27:39] And it's not like I'm starting from ground zero.
[27:41] Like we're doing some really cool jobs, big brands, all this stuff, but they'd seen none of that, heard nothing of that, and they were really just wanting videos that looked like the ones that I was making for myself on social media.
[27:54] Um, so both of these things happened at the same time, and I'm like, "This is really cool." And I didn't know
[28:00] which one was gonna really stick, if it was gonna be every week I was gonna be on a yacht in Monaco or if \[laughs\] I was gonna go back to commercial. I didn't know which one it was gonna be. Mm-hmm.
[28:12] Um, but I'm like, both sound pretty cool and fun. Yeah. Um- \[laughs\] Maybe we can- Maybe there's a birth... burst the- Yeah... maybe we can film yachts. Yeah. \[laughs\] Maybe we can film yachts or something.
[28:20] No, we're not filming yachts out. \[laughs\] But had a ton of fun on shooting this campaign, and it was like way back to the gr- the grassroots of filmmaking. Like, no set.
[28:32] Again, we're doing, you know, uh, closer to more proper productions back, um, before a bit of this pivot. This is back to grassroots film- filmmaking. Like m- this trip was me, myself, and a camera.
[28:45] There was like obviously a ton of help behind it, like a photographer and, and, you know, some styling. Like obviously the production was like there's a ton of us that had to fly into Mallorca to shoot this.
[28:57] Um, but as far as the camera goes, it was, it was me, myself, and a camera. It's filmmaking, raw filmmaking. But
[29:05] it was so much fun, really good people, and the prod- the, like what we produced out of that was really cool.
[29:10] And what I learned from this was everything that I've been learning, not even filmmaking-wise, um, from the past year of making my own videos, but advertising-wise and understanding audience and understanding social media, this was like paying off near now.
[29:26] 'Cause I was not... I was making films for them, but I was really like building a rollout for them while I was on this trip. I'm like, "Cool, this would be a great moment.
[29:36] Like let's do like a 15-second reel here," and we were just like stacking reels for them. And it was like building this massive video rollout, and what I learned was like, oh man, like I was...
[29:47] The value that I was providing to my clients before was, it was so like single-minded, I would say. Like very just like we're gonna make you a hero video, and it's gonna be 60 seconds. That's it.
[30:00] That's all you're gonna get, and you're gonna get two cuts and that's it. \[laughs\] And- No revisions... and no rev- and zero revisions. No fucking revisions. And you can't touch anything. \[laughs\] Yeah, that's it.
[30:11] \[laughs\] But, but I fully just said I'm gonna change my mindset here.
[30:15] I'm gonna, I'm gonna take this social media approach 'cause- Every brand, whether you're the biggest, baddest brand in the world, is on social media now, and I'm gonna take what I've learned in making videos
[30:28] for that, and I'm gonna help brands do that. Um, so that's really... That came to life. That was the first ever trip that I was like, "I think this is actually gonna come back to the commercial space now
[30:39] in a completely different way." And I didn't know but... It was gonna turn into fashion, where it kind of gone now, fashion and beauty, but I knew it was gonna be a... look a little bit different for a little bit.
[30:48] It was not gonna be big sets. It was gonna be a ton of projects where I'm gonna take all the line items. I'm gonna be the director. Mm-hmm. I'm gonna be the camera operator. I'm gonna color. I'm gonna edit.
[30:57] I'm gonna deliver. Like, I'm gonna do all these line items, and I just enjoyed it for s- like, for so long. It was so fun. Like, you were ideating the, the funnest projects.
[31:08] You got to work with prod- with companies that, um, they actually had budget 'cause they were, like, these small companies that were, like, printing cash on social media, but they've never done a normal production in their life.
[31:19] Mm. They had no idea what it looked. They weren't ta- tainted by this idea of like, "This is exactly how it needs to look like." They just liked what you, you did, and they just trusted you.
[31:29] So I was just doing that for a while, and then I got... That was, like, there was a few brands that that style worked for, and then I started doing a lot of close work with a brand called Dairy Boy.
[31:43] I started doing a lot of close work with a brand called Elwood, and then that would say that kinda, like, pushed me more into a fa- the fashion space. Um, and yeah, I just... I realized it all kind of,
[31:57] this whole pivot pointed me towards really loving what was happening. I would say the fashion commercial space is really interesting because it's really easy to showcase clothing.
[32:12] It's like you just put it on your talent. It's just wardrobe, and often what we're making for these social campaigns are just, they're just short films. Like, that's really real- Yeah... like, the reality of it.
[32:22] Um, product integration, it's not like you have to like, "Hey, now just hold this Coke- Mm-hmm... but you can't drink it, and you can't do this," and it's just like, no, we're just, like, really making things that
[32:32] make people feel something, and that's usually the goal is just, it's just to build the brand and, and make people feel connected to the brand. So I'm like, "This is great. I understand this space.
[32:44] I love this space," and that's kinda pushed me into where I am now, so. Was the first spot you did with Elwood, was it the golf inspired one? 'Cause didn't you- The first... No. I... Have we done a golf one with Elwood?
[32:59] I think I- Or was it s- So the first one, so the first one I ever did was they did this brand trip to Wyoming. Okay. Super cool trip. I remember this fucking trip. Yeah. It was- God, it was cool. It was cool shit.
[33:10] Really cool. Yeah. Really cool people on the trip. Got to meet a really... uh, some amazing people. Um,
[33:17] and I was just there, like, doing, like, a brand recap video, but also, like, making a ton of just really cool r- reels for the campaign as well 'cause they launched this more Western- It's-...
[33:29] feeling vibe, and then they posted this brand trip at the end. So we shot the campaign, and then we kinda just shot some stuff for fun after that.
[33:37] So that was the first one, and then the second really big one was we went to England. The whole team went to England, and- I think that's what it was... that's what you would have seen, and it was very vintage inspired.
[33:48] Like, it was- Yeah... super cool. It was, to this day, like, one of the most fun trips I've ever been on. Like, it was- It was like a castle or something, right? Yeah. So the founder, Justin,
[33:59] um, his fiancée, Eva, she grew up in England, and it was, like, this random town called Mitford outside of Newcastle.
[34:09] It was, like, really kind of in the middle of nowhere, but her family just had this connection to, like, this ca- th- th- pe- these people- Wow... that own this, pretty much this castle. Mm-hmm. And it's beautiful.
[34:19] People still, like, ran it and somebody, like, kinda caretaked it and lived in it, I think. Um, and the whole collection was inspired by this.
[34:28] It was called The Middle of Mitford was the collection, and it was inspired by this place and by this castle, and we worked with some, like, really cool talent, these influencers from England.
[34:40] It was, like, one of our hero talent. It was just a huge campaign.
[34:44] We shot it for three days, and it was just, like, head down for three days, and it was so fun, and then we all just went to London after that for, like, a couple days and, like, had fun. That's insane. Hung out. Yeah.
[34:52] Like, it was really, really fun. But that one, honestly, I look back on that, um, campaign, and I'm actually, like, really proud of that one. Yeah. The ideation was, like, we'd spent a ton of time ideating ideas.
[35:03] I think as far as a brand rollout goes, it's one of the better ones we've done. Um, we had hero, multiple hero videos, plus, like, the world building was so good.
[35:13] We had all these side stories, these little vignettes we'd call them, where it was like, you know, not quite as full as a hero video, but still living in the same world, but also characters in it that weren't even in a hero video.
[35:25] So, like, I would say the brand and the world building on that campaign was really cool, and I would say it was a really good template for what I do for a lot of other brands, where it's like, "Hey, this is what we can do."
[35:36] Like, we can, we can, we can shape things in a very different way, where it's not hero film, 30-second cut, 15-second cut.
[35:44] We can do it in a different way, where we can do something that feels like a hero film but then put just as much, um, thought into what are these other side stories that can be of more value.
[35:58] 'Cause, like, if someone's seen a hero video, like, they really don't care about a 15-second cut. Like, it doesn't do anything good for them, right? Yeah.
[36:04] But if we can do something that feels different, it's more of, like, this narrative conversation between characters or something, um, something a little bit more social focused, and we can do five of those on top of this hero film, I think it's gonna add a lot of value.
[36:17] So these were all... I was doing this for a lot of companies, and the reps were just, like, coming and coming and coming and coming.
[36:24] Um, and that's, I- It kind of all came together, like, this understanding of social media, understanding of filmmaking, putting those world together, and then kind of building more of these packages for brands that were a lot more than I would say other filmmakers were doing.
[36:41] I think a lot of brands, this is the problem I found when kind of speaking to them s- like, asking them what they've done in the past for video was they would get a lot of filmmakers that just weren't...
[36:52] They weren't directors, I would say, and they weren't, they weren't pouring enough into the ideation and, and they felt like everything they did felt a little bit lackluster.
[37:03] They, they would prepare these shoots and it was like they would prepare, like, a photo video shoot, and they'd hire more of, like, a videographer to come, and they would capture what was happening, what was happening with photo, but they weren't there directing their own piece.
[37:18] And that was the problem that, like, a lot of these, these clients were kind of coming to me with. So I was like, "I'm just... Yeah, I'm gonna give you as much as I can. Let's make a movie," pretty much.
[37:27] \[laughs\] I love that. Yeah. Taki, I wanna, I wanna get into the, the treatment and breakdown. I'm curious though, before we do that,
[37:34] you go from posting, I'm assuming on your personal Instagram, like back in the day before you kinda went hard on the, on the 'Gram. Were you mainly using it to share your work
[37:45] that you were doing with the production company? Or was it you were kinda just taking it as like, "This is my personal Instagram. I'm just posting kinda-" Yeah... "like photos or whatever"? Yeah, yeah.
[37:56] I would say the evolution was, um, more just, like, film photos of life. Mm-hmm. Was like, this is before the, you know, I would say the pivot. Yeah. Just like, if you go back now, you'll see tons of just, like,
[38:09] you know, film photos of me and friends, like, hiking mountains and having fun, going on vacation, road trips, stuff like that. Mm-hmm. Um, and then a little bit of work sprinkled in probably.
[38:20] 'Cause I ask, I'm curious, once you started posting the cinematic videos of yourself- Yeah... how was the reception to you posting videos of you versus client work? And I feel like you oftentimes- Mm-hmm...
[38:35] see a director or DP, whatever, they're posting either, like, just their work, or they're posting their personal life, and then they have a separate Instagram- Yeah... for their work.
[38:45] So I'm just curious, was there a strategy behind posting? Or were you just like, "If I have some great photos of myself or a cinematic video, I'll post that and my work if I do something- Yeah... for a brand."
[38:55] I know what you're asking, and I would say it's more of, like, a something I think about now that I- I see. Mm. But back then, we weren't getting any work from Instagram. Mm-hmm.
[39:05] It was all, like, our connections within the production world. I see. So I wasn't getting anything from people seen off Instagram back before. And then, but what you're asking now is 100% valid because
[39:19] now I would say I, I try to walk a really good balance. Like, I think it's still amazing and fun going out and shooting for, for fun. Like, I, I- Mm-hmm...
[39:26] it's one of my favorite things to do, but I don't wanna do post at least too much of it- I see... because my Instagram is a very strong portfolio of work. Mm-hmm.
[39:34] I don't wanna get drowned out in this space of, um, just seeing too much of me. Like, I do wanna b- I do wanna always continue to progress in the commercial space. I'm not an influencer.
[39:46] Like, I might do a couple brand deals, but, like, it's a couple a year kind of thing. Um, so I don't wanna, like, clutter it up too much with my face.
[39:54] So yeah, I understand that it's a, it's a hard balance for a lot of people. Yeah. Like, is this personal? Is this work? I think if you do it well, and this is what I've tried to do, if you do it well,
[40:08] it can be both, and I think it's in... I think more importantly, though, if it's just a portfolio and you don't get an idea of who you are, that's not good. Yeah. I think, like, brands nowadays, and
[40:24] creative directors, and production companies, like, they really wanna know who they're hiring, and they wanna see really good work, and they wanna, like, see... They wanna see, like, what kind of life you live. Mm-hmm.
[40:36] And, like, if you're a good person in a way.
[40:38] Like, sometimes you can judge, like, this, and you can judge how this person could treat people and, and if you can showcase at least a little bit of that in some manner, I think is really important.
[40:48] And then I think it's, like, also the bit of a social credibility if, like, you have a lot of mutuals- Yes... on social. I think it's like, okay, there's some credibility here. Yeah.
[40:56] Like, you know, maybe hopefully all these people don't hate him, but they probably- \[laughs\] You know? That's always the goal is like- No, 'cause the BTS- Yeah... looks crazy.
[41:04] Dude, the Salt and Stone BTS, I'm like, "This-" Dude, yeah, you're- "... this is fucking cracks" You're so- "This is cra- You're so- "Crandilla crumbs, dude. This is good shit"... so that is where I fell into...
[41:15] I, 'cause I don't share anything about my life on social media. Like, it might look like it a little bit, like there's some fun moments. Mm-hmm. But, like, you don't know...
[41:22] You, you don't really know much about me and my family life or, you know, like I own this coffee shop with my little sister. Like, I don't really showcase that aspect of my life.
[41:32] Like, there's all these things that I'm like, I don't really love to share, but I walk this fine line between sharing and kind of keeping anonymous in a way. Um, but where I fell was, like, I...
[41:42] The parts that I'm willing to show is, like, the behind the scenes of what it looks like to, like, just be an artist and a director, and that is...
[41:50] I feel good about that because it always comes back to my work and- Mm... like, being an artist, 'cause that's what I wanted to.
[41:56] Like, if it's just photos of me just screwing off in Italy, it's just not gonna do too much for me. Like, I might get an audience from that, which is amazing,
[42:06] but it's not gonna come back to my commercial work, um, which is... Like, that's kinda where I, I, I wanna keep growing that, and I- Mm... I love that space. So it's kind of the goal. Yeah. I love it. I love it. Yeah.
[42:17] Shall we take a little peek? Yeah. You want me to pull something up? Let's do it. All right. Okay.
[42:20] So yeah, this was a two-part series, which is kind of like I like to work with the client closely on what is, what does the rollout look like and- For them, this kinda made the most sense.
[42:31] They're doing a ton of campaigns. I've done a few for them, but they're filming all the time. They don't need a million assets, so. All right. It's clean as fuck. So girls, um- Clean as fuck.
[42:40] Just hot people- Thank you... doing hot people stuff, man. Okay, wait. Yeah, sure. Yeah. Oh, really? Go, go back. Go back to my first one. The first one? Yeah, yeah, yeah. All right. I just, I have a few questions.
[42:47] Oh, sick. Let's, let's walk it through. Yeah, walk me through it, dude. Those were so, so- Yeah, such pretty shots. Okay, love this shot. Let's... Wait, put it, put it on mute. Okay.
[42:57] How the fuck do we get this shot- Okay... right here? Yeah, yeah. The shot of the, the shot of the biker. Okay. You guys in a car that's following next to him. All right, so this is a...
[43:06] That's a really good question because these shots are really easy usually. Like, when I pivoted again and I started making videos for fun, often it...
[43:16] Like, if I was riding my motorcycle or something, I'd get a buddy that came out of a car with, like, a, a little DJI gimbal or something, and it's super easy.
[43:22] Like, you just film a ton and you're gonna get a cool shot like this. Now that we're doing larger commercial scales, it's harder to get these because, like, we're sh- the, we're shooting on RE. Mm-hmm.
[43:32] It's like- The whole thing... you know, it's the whole thing. Yeah. It's slow, but my DP, Zach, he was like... 'Cause I thought this would require, um, a massive, like, camera car setup.
[43:45] This is actually, like, a lot easier than I thought it was gonna be. He put it, he... They kinda, him and the grip set up s- something in the, um, passenger seat
[43:58] that was, I think it was, like, the camera just on a hi-hat or something. Wow. Like, it was pretty basic. Wow. It just needed to be the right height, and that was it.
[44:06] Like, the, the, the car itself is actually, like, should be smooth enough to get it what you want. Like, this is no stabilization. Mm-hmm. No nothing. Wow. Yeah, so it was actually- Mm... a lot easier than I thought.
[44:16] Like, m- granted, you can't do shots from, like, looking behind them- Yeah... or in front of them. Sure. Like, you can only be these side tracking shots.
[44:24] And did you guys, did you guys close down the road, or you just found a road that was not being fucking used? Uh, yeah, no, we closed it down. Yeah, okay. \[laughs\] I like that idea.
[44:31] \[laughs\] Yeah, no, we didn't s- And then, and then- No, we didn't close it down. We didn't close it down... are you slightly zooming in in camera \[clicks tongue\] on that shot? No, no, he came closer to us. I see. Okay.
[44:39] Yeah, he came closer to us. That's cool. Yeah. And then is this a little Dana dolly and it can- This is a Dana dolly. Oh. Yeah. Yeah, that's a Dana dolly, and another Dana dol- we kinda worked the Dana dolly in this one.
[44:48] We wanted this, like, very ethere- ethereal French noir inspired- Yeah... feeling. So then, okay, this shot right here. Yeah. Talk me through, like, the lighting setup to make sure that he's looking beautiful outside.
[45:03] We can see him clear as day, and then she also has this, like, this, like, streak going across her. What was the kinda setup like for this? Totally. And again, I owe all of this to my DP, Zach. He's the man. Mm-hmm.
[45:15] He's the man. But the setup was mostly because it's exposed, or, like, we're not changing exposure outside. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We just have to bump it up this side. Mm-hmm.
[45:24] I don't know exactly what light we were using, but we were running... I think we were just running one massive key- Okay... through a silk coming from the right-hand side. Um, I'm pretty sure that's all it was. Wow.
[45:37] Yeah. We might have had something going on here- Mm... on the left side, but- Wait, I wanna... I have a question about this shot. Yeah. Yeah. Dude, you can ask a question. As a director- Yeah...
[45:46] like, you have the idea for this, for the two spots, and did you know, like... Where was this shot again? \[clicks tongue\] Um, Montecito. Okay. Yeah. So you...
[46:04] \[sighs\] Like, were you able to s- I'm assuming, like, to know that you were gonna a- be able to get this shot specifically where, okay, there's this open room with glass. There's the tree outside. We...
[46:14] There's the pear on the tree. Mm-hmm. She's gonna be inside.
[46:18] Is this being able to see the photos on maybe, like, a peer space thing and, and being able to see it that way, or is it something where you have to be able to be at the spot to know that- Totally...
[46:29] you're able to get this shot? So we're gonna look at a treatment after this. Okay. That's, like, a final treatment, and
[46:36] th- I wish we could kinda see the evolution of these treatments 'cause it starts off, like, one way and then it changes based off a lot of things.
[46:43] But this was, this probably just started off me wanting to do a coffee scene, like her drinking coffee out- outside or something. And then, um, someone from production did a location scout and got a ton of photos.
[46:56] So I saw this room on the location scout, and I loved it, and I'm like, "This is gonna be, this is gonna be dialed in. This is gonna be cool." Mm. "And we have to kinda utilize it in a way."
[47:07] And I was like, what if he was doing... It was either me or someone from the brand, like, wanted the chin-ups or something. Mm. And the tr- I saw the tree in the photo.
[47:18] I'm like, "I really think that would, that could work for that." It kinda all just lined up perfectly 'cause that shot is kind of absurd, that it works- Yeah... out that easily, where he- Yeah...
[47:26] can just walk up- Uh-huh... and jump onto this branch is kinda, like, insane. And then the pear, the close-up shot of him grabbing the pear. Yeah, yeah. We just taped a pear to a tree. That's method mass. Yeah. Figured.
[47:36] \[laughs\] There's no, we didn't know pear trees. Yeah. Now this was, I think this is a really good project to showcase to people because \[sniffs\] it... We jammed packed. This is all shot in one day. Mm-hmm.
[47:47] And we didn't s- film a single extra shot. Like, there wasn't- Really? I hadn't... I didn't... I used every single shot that we, we got that day. Wow. There was no, there...
[47:58] We did not overshoot 'cause we couldn't overshoot, and it was exactly how we planned it out on the treatment. You'll see the shot list. Like, the shot list is weirdly close to, like...
[48:10] It's, uh, it's almost the exact same. It's just other references pulled from a million different places. Um,
[48:17] it's cool, but I think this is a cool example to show kind of at least the pre-production within, like, the shot planning, I would say. Yeah, let's, let's take a look at that treatment. Yeah, let's take a look at it.
[48:26] It looks- Sure... money. Let's do it. Let's do it. Those are so clean. Okay, you guys- And I guess to tee up the treatment- Yeah...
[48:35] talk to us about the initial outreach that Salt & Stone hits you up about, and how does that first initial conversation go? So I've worked with them, um, a few times now. This was, like, maybe my fourth one with them.
[48:52] So the relationship builds, which is really helpful, I would say, 'cause the trust builds a lot, and I know what they need and what I don't need to, like, fluff up. It's like, no, we get each other.
[49:03] We know each- the style that we've kinda built now. Um, and they're probably choosing me for this one for a specific reason probably, 'cause it probably matches, you know, either s- my style or something we've done. Um,
[49:17] so they hit me up and th- what they usually... This is w- my hope with brands is, like, they have something in place.
[49:26] They need something, and this is, like, you know, gone are the days where every brand has, like, a creative director either on the agency side or in, in brand. Like, sometimes now, the, the brands just
[49:38] expect the director to b- also be the creative director. But luckily, um, Sarah is her name from Salt & Stone, she's, like, super talented and her ideas are, like, super, super great. She's with it.
[49:49] She understands social. She gets... You know, she's cool. So I can trust they're gonna come to me with, like, a really good foundation of what they want. Um, so they came to me...
[50:01] I, I mean, the whole campaign was, was... It was called Ambrette & Pair. It was based around a pair. They wanted to be- feel like it was in France, and- I thought this was in France. I really did. Yeah. That's good.
[50:14] Amazing. Yeah, it was great. Perfect. Job well done. You guys did well. You did well. Um, they want- I knew it was in Montecito. Did you? Oh, 'cause- \[laughs\] I know that house. \[laughs\] I grew up there.
[50:23] \[laughs\] Yeah, yeah, yeah. Um, s- so, uh, they kinda... They wanted that, and I'm trying to think of how far they u- they took it. I can't remember.
[50:32] I think they probably wanted the love story element as well, and that's probably the last of what they gave me. Maybe they wanted a motorcycle involved.
[50:41] I think there was, like, talks of, like, this motorcycle man or something. So- And was the idea for the pair because it was pear-scented, uh- Yeah. It was, like, something...
[50:51] The whole campaign is, like, based around the scent of the deo- Okay... it's, like, a deodorant, um- And cologne... perfume. Perfume. Yeah. Uh- Yeah. Okay, cool. Collaboration or kinda two-part. So and that's why.
[51:02] That's kinda where the idea of the two-part series came into place, where I'm like, "Cool," like, "Let's do deodorant for part one and then, um, perfume for part two" kinda thing. Okay. And they're amazing.
[51:13] They don't need heavy product placement. They're like, "We need to- people to feel something and let's make a movie." Mm-hmm. So that's what we did. We made, like, a little short movie. Um, so yeah.
[51:23] That's what they came to me with. Pause. Yeah. What you just said there I think is super important. I, after watching that, I'm like, "I could totally see this being a five to 10-minute short film." Mm. It's not...
[51:38] It doesn't feel like a heavy product placement commercial. Totally. It's like, this almost feels like two mini moments from a larger film of sorts. That's- Which I love... I love that. Yeah.
[51:51] Appreciate that, 'cause that's the goal. I mean, that's the goal to just have clients also that wanna do that, I would say. Totally. Um, I mean, we- we're here selling products.
[52:00] Like, that's the reality of it, but there is this level of just brand building that, like, comes along with that, and if you, like, get blessed enough to work with brands that, like, are really just, "We wanna build a brand here," that's the best position to be in.
[52:14] Totally. So props to Salt & Stone for crushing it. Um, and I think it's like, this is a good one to show 'cause it was like, I just shot. It just released yesterday kinda thing, so it's just good timing.
[52:26] So I start off with just, like, a synopsis. Do you want me to read everything? No, yeah. Yeah, do it. Okay, sure. No, go for it. Or which one? No? I don't, I don't think you need to read everything. Oh, okay.
[52:33] I think you can just give us a spark note of, like, sort of- Yeah. So this one's just, like, a s- synopsis of, like, the story, and, like, this is what I will... I might not even put this in a treatment yet.
[52:42] I'll, I'll be t- like, texting either, like, the producer or the creative director and be like, "Are we aligned with this story?" It's a, could be a short blurb.
[52:53] Like, "Yeah, yeah, keep going, keep going, keep going," and I'll...
[52:55] I like small updates with them so I'm going the right direction rather than, like, "Here is my insane massive idea," and they're like, "We just had a meeting yesterday- \[laughs\] "...
[53:05] and we're going a completely different direction for the story." I'm like, "Okay, great." \[laughs\] So I'd, I'd rather not be in that position. Mm-hmm. Um, and I'm not, I'm not pitching very often.
[53:15] I don't send treatments to pitch. Um- It's a nice position to be in... it's a good... Yeah. I f- I pr- I'm super blessed to be in that position. So, um,
[53:24] so it's like, I'm not send- I don't need to send out this whole thing that's super polished and finished. I can kinda, like, be dripping it out and work it.
[53:31] It's just more something for us to work off of th- rather than to win a project. So keep that in mind. Mm-hmm. And this one's honestly quite simple, I would say, um, because it's, it's... the brand already knows so much.
[53:47] Sure. Like, they, they, they have a really good idea of, of their style and our style within this. So, like, this is really about the storytelling, I would say. Anyways, we have a little s- small synopsis.
[53:58] By now you guys know what the story's about. Then we just kinda break in who she is in the smallest little blurb possible.
[54:05] Um, again, it just helps us with, like, tiny little cues of, like, basically we're explaining that this girl lives here.
[54:11] It's a summer by herself alone in this, in this castle where she's living or, or, like, living to in, in the summer kinda thing.
[54:20] Um, linen, silk, bare feet, bored in a way only beautiful people in beautiful places can be bored kinda thing. It's just, like, again, it's we're living in this, this French noir inspired world
[54:34] We're doing hot people stuff. We're doing, yeah, it's just hot people stuff. \[laughs\] That's the reality. Um, and then him.
[54:41] Property help, cleans the pool, cares for the lawn, keeps the grounds, rides a motorcycle, does not perform for her, but is always performing. Quiet, sun darkened, unhurried, moves through the estate like he owns it,
[54:52] um, more than she does. Grease on his hands, salt on his skin, cigarette burn on his ear, knows she's watching, and does not look up. So just, like, setting the stage of who these characters are, and we have not...
[55:04] At this point, like, we don't have casting yet, so, like, this might help with casting, which a, a lot of the time the brand is doing most all, like, have a say.
[55:13] But a lot of the time it's, like, the brand and the production company is, like, really doing a lot of the casting. Um, director's approach.
[55:20] Um, at its core, Don't Touch the Pear is a story about attraction arriving before either character is willing to admit it. Film is bui- built around restraint.
[55:27] Instead of attraction reveals itself through observation, a glance held too long, a smell of a shirt, water on skin, a pear taken from someone else's hand. Fragrance becomes invisible catalyst between them.
[55:38] We never need to explain it. It's a fact. We simply watch the relationship, um, to him change after experiencing it. So that's where we integrate the product is, like, when she smelt that shirt for the first time- Mm.
[55:49] Mm... and she smelt the deodorant he put on, and it's like everything changes. It's super cheesy, but, like, can we make this romantic and cool- Mm... and kind of fun, right? Um, load sweet.
[56:01] I think also everyone can relate to smelling someone else's shirt or hoodie or something- Yeah... and being like, "Ah, that's their smell." Yeah, like the smell of your girlfriend's shirt, right? Yeah.
[56:11] Like, it's like it, it brings you back. Yeah. It reminds you of her. Um,
[56:15] and then just visual style, as I explained, vintage Fren- French cinema, slow burn of a love story told in glances, saturated heat, deep shadow, the pause before something happens.
[56:25] Every frame carries the weight of what is not being said, romance, restraint, ruin, the south of France, um, as it lives in memory so.
[56:35] You guys were using, like, the one shot of the male talent when he's sitting on a thing. That's just natural sun, right? You're getting, like, that hard streak across his face. It was- Which shot?
[56:44] I think he's, like, posted on, like, the, on the chair. You know what I'm talking about? Yeah. Like, when you're, like, we're flipping back and forth. It, it cut, it cuts back to the girl, and she's- Yeah, yeah...
[56:51] she's soft. Yeah, yeah. Like, she doesn't look super harsh, but then it cuts to him, and he's kinda like in the sun. We're... That one, I can't remember. I think we were bouncing. Okay. Okay.
[56:57] Yeah, most of the stuff outside, I don't think we had any- No, like, nothing diffused... diffusion actually set up outside. Okay. Wow. It was mostly bouncing. We didn't have time to set up massive s- Mm-hmm...
[57:08] um, frames or anything. Mm-hmm. Outside we did. Oh, sorry, for some of the motorcycle, um, mediums we did, I remember now. Mm.
[57:16] But by the time we were getting to those shots it was like we're just bouncing light around- Mm... more or less. And we kind of timed it in the day where the mid of
[57:24] n- like high heat, we were just, like, inside, and then- About, about... the, when the sun started to come down or was rising, like, we were trying to do more of the exteriors. Mm. Four-by-three aspect ratio.
[57:36] This one, I would say, like, you know, you, you asked... You said before take credit for the, this, you know, making cinematic videos, life. Like, not taking credit for that.
[57:46] But I will say this inve- this kind of this idea of we're gonna post a hero film in four-by-three, and then we're gonna make all of these, um, little vignettes, but we can do 9:16 for those. Mm. It was kinda like this...
[58:00] I feel like I did, and you see a lot of people doing it now, but that is I would say my invention- Okay...
[58:04] because I'm like, it was literally just came out of authentic, m- like, place of me trying to convince brands to, like, get away from 9:16.
[58:12] 'Cause I was just doing these four-by-threes for myself, 'cause I'm like, they... I really l- like love- More space too... that aspect ratio. Way more space. It's just fun. Yeah.
[58:19] It's, like, at least closer to 16-by-nine. Mm-hmm. Um, so I usually do this thing with brands where, like, we can do the hero in four-by-three, which, like, it doesn't hurt reach or anything. Like, it- Yeah...
[58:31] it's, it's, it's fine, but, you know, to walk the line, we can kind of give them asset vignettes in 9:16.
[58:39] So this one we'll shoot four-by-three, and it's just, you know, we want the 16 millimeter to look kind of vibe anyways, so it kinda just works. Uh, we're gonna do a two-part series, easy.
[58:50] Um, we're gonna do approximately one minute per part, easy. And then we just have a, a readout. This is, like, kind of beat for beat, uh, what each film is. I don't have to read it. We watched the films. Yeah.
[59:02] But this is kinda just part one. And now this is pretty much my storyboard for, for the whole part one actually. So this is her waking up. This is that tracking shot. This is the only shot that we probably didn't get.
[59:18] Mm-hmm. I just feel, realized we didn't need it. This is the shot of him pulling up, revving his engine. Mm. Um, this is her, back to her waking up. He goes back to him revving the engine.
[59:28] This is that shot- The coffee... outside, that coffee scene. Oh, nice. That's the close-up. This is him doing chin-ups. \[laughs\] That's the pear. So it's really just a storyboard. Yeah, it's amazing.
[59:37] And it's, but it's like you can see it. It's like, "Oh, yeah" Yeah. Yeah. It, it turned out pretty similar to the way- Mm-hmm... we storyboarded it, but again, we didn't...
[59:43] We shot everything that's on here minus one or two shots, and but we used everything. There's no guessing in the edit. I'm like, it probably took me,
[59:51] I don't know, an hour and a half to put assembly together, because I'm like, it's all just right there. Done. It's quite easy. Yeah. Yeah. Is there a site that you like to use to gather reference images?
[1:00:02] I will do a mix of Framed Set, ShotDeck, um, and Pinterest. Nice. Just all three. I'll be a mix of all three. Cool.
[1:00:12] Yeah, especially in the fashion space, there's a lot of just, like, beauty moments that I just cannot find on- Mm...
[1:00:18] on ShotDeck and Framed Set, that it just kinda, like, more co- more so comes from the photography aspect of things- Yes. Mm... that I can take from, like, a Pinterest or something.
[1:00:27] Um, but I'll just cycle through all three of those, depending on what the, um, what the creative looks like. And then we go here. She's doing up the sheets, silhouetted a little bit. He's
[1:00:40] smoking a cig- I don't think he ended up smoking a cigarette. I don't think we wanted that, but, um, he's chilling, peeling the pear. Um, she sniffs, and now they're in love. \[laughs\] Nice.
[1:00:52] And it's just like this back, this back and forth that we end on. Uh, then we go into part two. Ag- again, just explaining it beat for beat. Um, and then this was a cool story, actually. We...
[1:01:05] I wanted it to hit, to be him working on his motorcycle 'cause that's... We had this motorcycle. And someone from set, she was... She might've been a part of the, the grip team.
[1:01:18] She, like, pulls up in this blue Mercedes, this, this SL, and it was, like, the whole... It was the exact color of the campaign was this, like, light blue. And I was like, "Can we use your car in this scene?"
[1:01:30] So it was, like, him working on this beautiful blue Mercedes. \[laughs\] And like, this is way sicker. \[laughs\] Like, added production value. You kidding me? Mm. So sometimes you get these, like, amazing happy accidents.
[1:01:38] \[laughs\] So this turned into him working on a car. She hears it. She runs... This is almost, like, exactly the same looking balcony. I love that shot. Yeah. He looks up. I love the shot. That shot was sick.
[1:01:48] It's kinda pushing there. Of her- Yeah... of her looking up? Like, running out- Yeah... with the push-up. Yeah, yeah. Um- Did you guys, did you use a crane, or how were you guys up, or...
[1:01:57] Like, it looked kinda like you were high. No? No, we were just down below. Just down low. Yeah. Okay. We had for some... That one, we had a few shots that were slow zoom, so we had this, the zoom lens that we were doing.
[1:02:07] Um, and then mostly were primes the rest of it. But yeah, we were pretty down below, um, from his POV. And then him snipping some hedges. I li- I like that shot a lot. Yeah. That was cool. Her walking,
[1:02:20] him looking at her, her pr- yeah, pretty much the exact same- Water shots of clean... water shots, and c- her coming out, eating the pear. Bada bing. Him eating the same pear. \[laughs\] Love.
[1:02:33] \[laughs\] We wanted just to be, like, sexy and weird- Yeah... and kind of there's, like, this- It's like tension... Saltburn- Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah... kind of tension. You know, not close to, like...
[1:02:43] There was- That was weird Saltburn. \[laughs\] You know, not as weird. Um- Yeah, that ending scene. Yeah. \[laughs\] Yeah, as I said, it's kinda like the same, right? \[laughs\] Yeah. Oh my God. That's in the extended cut.
[1:02:53] I've actually never seen it. You've never seen it? I've just heard, I've just heard it. Oh. I've just heard of it. Shocking. And I can, like- Regardless- Through, through the trailer- Beautiful...
[1:03:00] I can kinda get the vibe, but- Beautiful film... it's a b- it's so beautifully shot. It sounds amazing. It's, it's- Yeah... I li- I fucked with it. It's good. It sounds amazing. The ending's crazy, though.
[1:03:07] Yeah, it is insane. That's also what I've heard. And then there's just this, again, he's leaving. Mm-hmm. I wanted this, like... This one, it's tough to come across.
[1:03:16] I don't know if we accomplished this or not, but this feeling of, like, him getting on this motorcycle, looking up, and not knowing if she's gonna join or not. Mm. I don't know if... It was hard.
[1:03:26] It's hard to do that without dialogue. Mm-hmm. Um, that was probably the biggest challenge with- within this whole thing and, 'cause I knew they really wanted tension throughout the whole thing.
[1:03:35] They wanted, like, this love tension to build, and, and they kinda want it to feel like a bit of a rollercoaster, and it's hard to do without dialogue.
[1:03:42] Um, but that's what kind of the goal was here, is him kinda keep looking back up, keep getting ready for the motorcycle. She's upstairs, and then she runs out, and then she joins him. And Dodge...
[1:03:52] I love this end shot \[laughs\] of Doj- like, I love references that are so different- Mm... than the final frame, but you get the idea. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Like him leaving on the motorcycle. Yeah, yeah.
[1:04:00] Um, so yeah, that's the tr- that's more or less the treatment. This is, like, a short blurb of how we're integrating the product, um, in, like, the smallest way of, like, kinda what it means. Mm-hmm. Sick.
[1:04:12] You said you don't necessarily pitch. Can you explain to me, if you were pitching for this project, how that treatment might differ from the one that you just showed us?
[1:04:23] Yeah, it would be different in the sense where I would not spend all that time storyboarding it. It would really be more diving into... I would probably dive into their characters a little bit different 'cause
[1:04:35] it's, you're, you're probably pitching an idea that the client just doesn't understand anything yet. So really just going into the story, um, the characters, the vibe, d- like, what does it mean?
[1:04:49] Like, French-inspired, like, what does that mean? Trying to, like, sell this idea and this vision more ra- It's a-... rather than going beat for beat on shot. Mm-hmm.
[1:04:58] Which it's tough 'cause some of that stuff, I mean, is so important, and when you understand it, and when everyone, when the brand already wants that, and they came to you with that, it's, like, very easy 'cause you can spend the time on stuff that you feel like is really important.
[1:05:10] Like, what i- what is the story? Like, what does the shot list look like? Um, but yeah, sometimes it's, it's, I would say the treatments, the, the pitching side of things, it's more fluff.
[1:05:23] Like, it's a little bit of fluff. Like, you're just trying to sell this idea, right?
[1:05:28] So you have to, like, fluff it up and make it seem, like, really, really sexy, um, rather than, like, going into, like, the nitty-gritties 'cause you don't know what you're gonna have, if you're gonna be able to have motorcycles and this and that- Sure...
[1:05:39] and the other and all these things, right? Yeah. Um, so yeah, I would say that's probably how it would differ. But again, I don't do a lot of that. Like, that's pretty- Yeah... simple, I would say, that treatment. Um,
[1:05:51] I don't do a lot of pitching. Um, I'm not represented, so I don't have, um, an agency or production company, like, putting me forward for, like, a triple bid or anything.
[1:06:01] I have, I do it, like, a few times a year kinda thing, but luckily most brands come to me, like, just wanting me and my style.
[1:06:11] And we can kinda work together, um, to figure out kinda what the story is and what the campaign is, so. How has being, like, an athlete in your past life helped with this career in filmmaking?
[1:06:24] 'Cause I know h- Coast is not as much as myself, obviously- Sure... being, like, an athlete, you know? But, like- Mm-hmm... you don't relate to it as much. You know what I'm saying? Kid plays
[1:06:34] one night of intramural softball- He doesn't relate to it as much, but I know-... and calls himself an athlete. \[laughs\] I know guys like us can really relate to this, the being a really solid athlete.
[1:06:42] Um- You look like you're in shape. What's wrong? I don't get it. He's not in shape. Dude, you heard it. \[laughs\] You heard it. He looks good. Come on, bro. \[laughs\] Yeah, dude, more athletic than fit.
[1:06:50] Dude, I'm a Sunday warrior I play baseball on Sundays still, right? Sick, sick, sick. I play baby... But tell, tell me about how that has impacted- Sure, yeah... and how you think about that as a whole. Mm-hmm.
[1:07:00] I grew up playing hockey in Canada, so it's, it's very, I would say, like military mindset. Like, especially in the hockey space, it's like, it's pretty strict. Like,
[1:07:13] and, and there's s- I feel like I learned so much from it. Everything from, like, you show up on time or you're not playing. Like, everything from, like, the smallest things of, like, showing up early to set- Mm...
[1:07:25] to the biggest thing being, like, the work ethic. It's like, you know, the hardest workers are, are the ones that are gonna progress and, and get picked for the team and do the best.
[1:07:35] Like, so I would say what I took the most is the work ethic. Mm-hmm. Um, and I would say, like, I'm not the most... Like, I've always done well in school. I've always done well in sports.
[1:07:50] Like, I'm definitely talented, but you know those people that exist that are, like, insanely talented at, like... and insanely smart- Mm... at, like, everything. No matter what they touch, instantly it's, like, insane.
[1:08:02] I would say I w- I was closer to the guy that just, like, worked really, really, really hard.
[1:08:06] Um, so that's the approach I just took with all, everything I do here, where it's just like, all right, if I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna work really, really hard. I'm gonna put the reps in. And I feel like
[1:08:17] that has been lost sometimes within the filmmaking space a little bit, you know? I feel like we're a little bit too quick sometimes to hop on social media and, and complain that we're not getting jobs
[1:08:31] when, why aren't we just, like, outside just, like, making something? Like, that's- Mm... the route that I took. When I'm like, I wanted a change,
[1:08:39] I knew it wasn't gonna be, like, making pitches and sending emails that was gonna be, like, the difference maker for me.
[1:08:47] It was gonna be, I'm gonna get better at my craft by, like, doing it so, so much, and as much as I can. I always... I mentor... Like, kinda like I do these one-on-one mentorships with a lot of y- young filmmakers.
[1:08:58] I always bring up this, like, analogy of Picasso, and he did something of, like, upwards to 50,000 pieces of art. Like,
[1:09:08] I, I can't remember what the math was, but if he had to do, if from the day he was born to the day he died, even, like, as an infant, he would've had to do, like, 10 plus pieces a day or something. It was, like, insane.
[1:09:21] Mm-hmm. And I'm like, and we call ourselves artists, and we're not making anything even close to that half the time. Do you know what I'm saying? Mm-hmm.
[1:09:33] So when I kinda, like, started to put that together, I'm like, "I really w- wanna, like, respect myself as an artist," it's like, I gotta be making things.
[1:09:39] I gotta be, like, progressing, getting better, focused on the craft of it. And I'm still super passionate about entrepreneurship, business, making money from it, like, we gotta survive here, all those things.
[1:09:52] Um, I feel like I'm an entrepreneur at heart, but at the end of the day, you gotta be...
[1:09:58] If you wanna be competing with the best, like, you gotta be the best at what you do, and sending emails is just not gonna get you better. Like, that's the reality.
[1:10:04] So that's probably the discipline of showing up and making a lot of stuff and working really hard and, and making sure I'm, like, bettering myself every or- every day.
[1:10:12] That's probably what I took mostly from being an athlete. That's why I love your story specifically about
[1:10:21] taking things into your own hands, and even if you weren't getting, quote-unquote, "hired" for the work yet, you were still putting in the reps, like you just said- Mm-hmm... on your own stuff. And I think s- a,
[1:10:34] a very simple, easy concept that didn't necessarily compute when I was first starting out was you don't have to make something only when someone's paying you to do it. Mm.
[1:10:46] And I think the way that you get better is by putting in the reps, like you said- Mm-hmm... even if you don't have a job. I think a lot of- Yeah... people are wondering, "Oh, why am I not getting works?"
[1:10:56] And yes, I do think that there is a part to being creative on the entrepreneur side that maybe doesn't come as easy to people, where- For sure...
[1:11:06] yes, there is still, like, you probably should be sending emails and doing pitches and stuff, but sometimes the best marketing is just being really, really good at what you do. 100%. Mm-hmm.
[1:11:18] What I've, what I realized working with some of the biggest brands is that they have all the money in the world. They're gonna work with whoever they wanna work with. Mm. They're gonna pay for the best.
[1:11:33] So if that is what you want, if you want to be working with the best, the email, the pitch, it's not gonna like...
[1:11:41] I get, I get, like, pitching for big commercial jobs and there's triple bidding and you're bidding against all these other m- I get that aspect of things, but searching for w- if you wanna be working with the biggest brands,
[1:11:52] you gotta be bettering yourself as a creative first. Like, that has to be number, number one, 100%. Like, you gotta be getting better and building a portfolio, because these brands, they will pay for whoever they want.
[1:12:03] That's the reality of it. Um, so yeah, that's the approach that I took. I'm like, I, I wanna be working with some really cool, cool companies with some really cool talent.
[1:12:14] You know, the people that are doing it, you know, well, have been doing it well for a while, like, those are the people just I wanna be working with. It's not really about the brand. I've never been
[1:12:24] obsessed with I need to be working with, um, this brand and it, it, then it'll, will be cool. Like, my approach was I'm gonna do really cool stuff for whatever brand comes my way. Mm. It doesn't matter.
[1:12:35] Like, I think if, if you're good at what you do, you can make anything look sexy. Um, so that was the approach I took, but I do wanna be working with people that are really good at what they do.
[1:12:46] Um, so usually that comes along with, like, some of the bigger jobs. Um, but yeah, the approach that I just took was just get, just get better.
[1:12:53] And I'm not saying I'm the best, but every day I'm working definitely to become better every day and, and that's the journey that, like, I love to be on. Well, you are pretty damn good. \[laughs\] Thank you, man.
[1:13:03] And, you know, that's why you're on the 505 Pod. \[laughs\] Um, I do wanna ask- Sure... how you got connected with your DP. Uh, it was through a Salt and Stone ad, actually. Yeah, it was one, we did one in the desert. Um,
[1:13:18] I've never had a DP that I've worked with as closely as more recently with Zach. Before it was just more a lot of one-offs.
[1:13:27] And it was, we got connected just through the production company, and we shot this really cool one in the desert, um, earlier this year. And we kind of shot a few since ever, like, a few more Salt and Stone ads.
[1:13:42] He was just in Australia with me, done some more beauty stuff. Um, it's nice to work with someone that not only does your, like, style align. Like, he has... He got his start within,
[1:13:58] um, DP-ing through a lot of, like, shooting on 16 millimeter and stuff like that. So we both have this very traditional style, very rooted in, like, traditional film, I would say. Um,
[1:14:14] and he's, like, the coolest, most chill guy ever and, and I think, like, half of it is, like, do you get along? Are they causing problems? Do you like the way they communicate with people on set? 'Cause, like,
[1:14:24] when you put people forward for jobs, it is a representation of you, and you want everyone to be, like, representing you really well. Mm-hmm. Um, and he does that really well. So
[1:14:35] when you find someone that you work to- like really well together with, it's like you wanna just kinda keep working with them. So any job where I'm like I get and I send his name to the pr- uh, production company and,
[1:14:46] and, uh, he's busy, I'm like, "God dang it." \[laughs\] "That sucks." \[laughs\] 'Cause it's like, uh, you gotta start a new relationship over- Sure... sometimes rather than- Mm... it's like you kinda just know.
[1:14:54] You know how he operate. Mm-hmm. Um, but it also at the same time it is really good
[1:15:00] to have those opportunities to work with different people and see different ways of, of working and operating and, and maybe you get something different and more unique out of stuff.
[1:15:09] So there's value in, in, in kind of that process as well, for sure. Mm-hmm. I love it. Yeah. This has been a fun pod, god. Yeah. Fun episode 217? I think. 218. Something like that.
[1:15:21] Ladies and gentlemen, episode 218 of the 505 Pod- Wow... with R.J. Bruni. If you're still here, please hit the subscribe button, drop us a comment, leave us a like, and we'll see you guys all next week. Thank you, guys.
[1:15:28] Peace.

Shows are listed from Apple Podcasts' charts and directory, and Podcast Index where it is used. Every show and episode belongs to its publisher and plays from the publisher's own feed; this site hosts none of them.